Babies Know Dirt!

When my young sons were exploring the streets of Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but wonder how good crushed rock or dried dog droppings could taste when delicious mashed potatoes were routinely rejected.“

Amy can teach us a thing or two about the joys of playing outside in a field of dandelions and...dirt!

So starts one of the latest articles in the New York Times Health section. I couldn’t resist the quote, as I understand having a fussy eater can be incredibly trying! Authored by Jane E. Brody, this is an interesting and short one-page read about germs and health, and how babies (those amazing creatures!), seem to know a little more than we adults do sometimes! Read the full article here…and go play!

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Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys…

Round 'Em Up!! Cast your favorites, 'cuz the first contest winner gets "branded" tomorrow!

But let ‘em dress in le•top cowboy and cowgirl-inspired clothes…Round ‘Em Up (pictured right) is just one of many favorites you can choose in our Favorites Contest!

For your chance to win $500 (retail value) worth of fashionable baby and children’s clothes from le•top and rabbit moon, just go here, and tell us what your faves are. Round up your faves, because the first $500 winner will be announced tomorrow!

Whether it’s for your own kids, grandchildren, gifts for future baby showers (it’s been a cold, long winter!), or gifts for all your nieces, nephews and other darlings, just choose your le·top playwear and rabbit moon favorites, and you might win them! Share…tell your friends!

P.S. For more contest rules, go here. And apologies to cowboys and cowgirls…we love you…we don’t know why Willie Nelson sings that!

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An Early Valentine Kiss from Eber Jeeber in Overland Park, KS

Shop the le•top collection of baby and children's clothes at Eber Jeeber...and also join in on the fun!

Amy has the perfect personality for a baby and children’s store — she knows how to have fun! She runs Eber Jeeber, an upscale baby store in Overland Park, KS (a great, southern suburb of Kansas City). Her creative and entertaining ideas bring her customers in and show them a great time, both young and old! She is gearing up for a Spring full of events, starting with a Valentine’s Day box-decorating extravaganza! Just $5 outfits your child with a customizable heart-shaped box and a myriad of color paints for budding artists to have a blast decorating it. And when the Easter Bunny comes hoppin’ around this April, you can be sure Bunny will be shaking its whiskers at Eber Jeeber for a major photo-op with the kiddies. A local photographer will be on hand to capture the whole scene (and provide your family with a special snap for the Rogue’s Gallery). Check out all these fun events and our le•top Spring Collections on Amy’s newly redesigned Website, (www.eberjeeber.com). If you’re nearby, Amy would love to see you, so drop in to see what’s happening and browse the great wears: Eber Jeeber: 4937 W. 119th Street, Overland Park, KS. Phone: 913.663.3237.

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Big Sister has the Magic Touch!

Miranda assessing the nursery for magic (in one of her favorite le•top dresses: Buttons and Bows)

Miranda has been very excited about being a big sister since the moment she found out — which was about when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Every day she’s been asking when her new baby was coming. So if I do a quick calculation, that’s 161 days of asking, “Is the baby coming today? Will the baby come tomorrow? When’s the end of March?” (And I have roughly 63 more days of questioning. Oh, dear, help me!)

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Boom-Booms! To Ward off Evil!

There are many traditions that we follow here at le•top, and Chinese New Year is a big one! Since my husband, Paul is from Hong Kong, as well as having family and spending so much time there, the traditions of the Lunar New Year are very near and dear to us…even if they are loud and cause a ruckus! I will also admit that we love celebrating and having fun at work, too.

Traditional Firecracker Lighting and Big Bang!

One time-honored observance at this festive time of year is the setting off of firecrackers — hundreds and hundreds of them! They’re each rolled up in red paper — red is a very auspicious color — and strung together on a long fused string. The mythology is that because firecrackers are so deafening (you can see we’re covering our ears!), the popping and booming sounds are thought to scare away evil spirits — not to mention, in modern times, to set off car alarms!

Red firecracker paper...like brilliant red leaves of fall!

Kung Hay Fat Choy! Wishing everyone happiness, health and great prosperity!

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Celebrity Pregnancy: Molly Ringwald

Photo from babyrazzi.com

Actress Molly Ringwald, best known for her roles in 80′s teen classic movies “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty In Pink” and “The Breakfast Club,” and currently as a mother of a pregnant teenager in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” is expecting twins (a boy and a girl) in August. Molly and her husband, Panio Gianopoulos, have a 5-year old daughter, Mathilda Ereni.

(Source: babyrazzi.com)

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To be…an Ox, or not to be…an Ox

12 animals of Chinese Astrology. Courtesy: Shine from Yahoo!

There are 12 animals in the Chinese Zodiac. Babies born today, January 26, 2009 through February 13, 2010, will be an ox (other years of the ox include 1901, 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997). Some of the characteristics of this animal sign are: Dependable, calm, methodical, patient, hardworking, ambitious, conventional, steady, modest, logical, resolute, tenacious. Can be stubborn, narrow-minded, materialistic, rigid, demanding.

Sound like anyone you know? Click on the image to see the daily or overview forecasts for all 12 animals.

To learn more about Chinese Astrology, wikipedia has a very in-depth write-up!

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Kung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year!

2009 is the Year of the Ox

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le•top Tip: Another Favorite Stain Fighter

We love to eat berries in the summer, and inevitably, berry juice drips its way to the shirts and shorts of the wearer! Sometimes certain stain sticks don’t work, but this usually does:

Mix a few drops each of vinegar, dish soap and water, and apply to the stain on the machine washable garment. Let it sit for a while and rinse. For tough stains, it may take another application, then machine wash as usual.  I used to use it on dark juice stains too – but I’ve noticed most juice in juice boxes now are colorless!

(I don’t know which is more troubling… Juice that is over-colored, or juice that has none at all!)

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Shopping at Granny-Made

The editor: seriously in love with this boy!

On a recent trip to NYC with Sweetie, we stopped by charming Granny-Made, so we could both make some purchases for the little kiddies we were visiting. Two of my best friends who live in Manhattan have an adorable, just-turned 24-month old boy with the most mesmerizing dark brown eyes. I wanted to get something for him and found this fun and warm outfit from the le•top Construction Site collection. Henry wasn’t feeling well that day (it seemed as if almost every child in NYC was sick during our visit!), so I didn’t get to see him dressed in the complete outfit, but he loved the orange stripes of this shirt (that day, I learned his favorite color was orange), as well as the trucks on the overall and jacket (“Tuck! Tuck!” I also learned Henry loves trucks!). I’m waiting to get the photos, Mom (hint…hint), but Justice models it well, doesn’t he? Granny-Made is happy to take phone orders and ships almost anywhere, and they also have convenient gift certificates you can buy online. As always, you can use our store locator to find a le•top store near you.

Caution...Boys at Play!! Click image to see all items in the Construction Site collection.

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